Reducing garment and method of making the same



June 7, 1932. TA. BENNETTI 1, 6 ,0

REDUCING GARMENT AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Jan. 6, 1925Patented June 7, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE THOMAS A. BENNETT, OFAKRON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE B. I. GOODRICH COMPANY,

. OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK REDUCING GARMENT ANDMETHOD OF MAKING- THE SAME Application filed January 6, 1925. Serial,No. 821.

This invention relates to reducing garments in the form of girdles ofelastic construction obtained by the use of sheet material formed eitherof sheet rubber or of stretchable fabric combined with sheet rubber, andit has for a primary object to provide means for Incorporating into agarment of this character the reenforcing structures, such as marginalfabric bindings and stays, which shall result in a smooth-surfacedgarment of substantially uniform material thickness. A further object isto provide in a garment of this char acter an adjustment panel whichshall protect the wearer from contact with fastening and lacing devices.

Of the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a reducinggarment embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail view insection on line 22 of Fig.1, showing the incorporation of the back staysin the garment; Fig. 3 is a similar section, on line 3-3 of Fig. 1,showing the arrangement of the body-portion of the garment and theadjustment panel; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the adjustment panel;and Fig. 5 is a section, on a large scale, on line 55 of Fig. 4.

In the drawing is the main or body portion of the garment, preferably ofsuch size as to nearly embrace the body of the wearer, and 11 is anarrow adjustment panel, preferably at the front of the garment asshown. the two being connected to form the complete garment by suitablefastening and adjustment devices.

The body-portion 10 of the garment is made of elastic, vulcanized,rubber sheet material 12 and is reenforced at the back byvertically-disposed stiff, flexible stays 14, and at a front margin 15by stays 16, the other front margin 17 of the garment requiring no staysby reason of its association with the panel 11. Four stays, in spacedgroups of two each, are illustrated at the back of the garment. It is tobe understood, however,'that there may be a greater or less number ofstays and that stays at intermediate regions of the garment may beemployed. The rubber sheet 12 of the body-portion 10 is also reenforcedby rub- 50 berized-fabric strips which are vulcanized with and form anintegral part of the body portions of the garment, as hereinafterdescribed. As shown, rubberized-fabric strips 18 embrace the stays 14;at the back of the garment and strips 19 similarly embrace the stays 16at the front margin 15, a rubberizedfabric strip 20 also being disposedalong the front margin 17 of the garment. Suitable means are provided atthe front margins of the body-portion of. the garment to connect it withcooperating means on the adjustment panel11. Tlius, a row of eyelets 21to receive a lacing 22 is provided between the stays 16 and extends thelength of the front margin 15, and hooks 23 are attached along the frontmargin 17 V The adjustment panel 11 consists of a rub-- berized fabricfastening strip 24 and a rubber sheet under-flap member 25, the twobeing joined, preferably by vulcanization, along a median zone 26 so asto leave bothedges of the fastening strip and of the under-flap free. Asshown, the fastening strip 24 is formed of two strips of rubberizedfabric 27 between which, and adjacent to one of the free edges thereof,are disposed two, spaced stays 28 of suit-ably stiflr, flexiblematerial. A row of eyelets 29 is positioned between the stays 28 andextends the length of the fastening strip. The other free edge of thefastening strip 24 has attached thereto eyes 30 suitably spaced andconstructed to engage the hooks 23, above described. The under-flapmember 25 is coextensive-in length with the fastening strip 24 andextends on either side beyond the zone of joinder 26 sufliciently toprovide two flaps underlying the front margins 16 and 17, respectivelyof the body portion 10, in all proper positions of adjustment. Crumplingof the under-flaps is prevented by two stays 31, in each flap, disposedtransversely of the under-flap member 25, said stays being covered withstrips of rubber- ;lzed-fabric 32 and vulcanized to the underi Therubber sheet. of the body portion 10 and of the under-flap 25 may havealarge number of small perforations 33, for the purpose of permitting adirect escape of perspiration. This perforated construction renders 1the garment more comfortable and sanitary and at the same time morereadily stretchable and more completely conformable to the figurc of thewearer than an imperforate garment. The present invention is not,however, limited to a erforated garment.

In making the a ove-described garment, I preferably follow the procedurehereinbelow set forth, which I believe to be novel wlth me and which Iclaim herein as a part of my invention. In making the body-portion 10 ofthe garment, I take a sheet 12, of curable rubber, or of alternatelayers of stretchable fabric and curable rubber and cut it to the shapeand size desired for the garment, allowance being made for theadjustment panel 11. On a rubber surface of this sheet, I apply thestrips of fabric coated with curable rubber in any suitable way,preferably by frictioning, the strips 18 extending lon itudinally of theback where the stays are to be placed and the strips 19 and 20 along thefront margins 15 and 17 of the garment. The stays 14 are thensuperimposed on the strips 18 at the back and the stays 16 on the strip19 at the margin 15. The stays are then covered with strips of similarlyrubberized fabric. Alternatively, the stays may be first disposedbetween the rubberized fabric and then placed in proper position uponthe rubber of the sheet 12.

The body-portion of the garment, with the fabric strips .18, 19 and 20,and stays 14 and 16 in place, is then vulcanized in a flat conditionunder pressure. This may be accomplished in a number of ways. I find itto be satisfactory to effect the vulcanization in a steam-platen press,the garment being preferably placed between felt-sheeting, or otheryielding blankets, to distribute the pressure of the press withsubstantial uniformity over the garment. A desideratum in thevulcanization, however carried out, is to cause a. sufficient flow ofthe rubber to produce a garment which shall be of substantially uniformthickness throughout, thus overcoming local -weaknesses due to abruptchanges of cross section, the fabric and stays being embedded within therubber to form smooth surfaces both exteriorly and interiorly of thegarment. After vulcanization, the eyelets 21 and the hooks 23 areattached to the fabric-reenforced margins 15 and 17, respectively, andthe rubber sheet is perforated, if desired.

The adjustment panel 11 is made in a manner similar to that abovedescribed in connection with the body portion 10. For example, thefastening strip 24 is formed by laying up rubberized-strips 27 withspaced stays 28 in proper position therebetween. The under-flap member25 is cut to size and the transverse stays 31 placed thereon in properposition preferably between rubberized-fabric strips 32. The assembledfastening strip 24 is now superimposed upon the under-flap member 25,non-adhesive pa er being placed between said strip and mem er along bothedges in such manner as to prevent adhesion of the two duringvulcanization except at a median zone of adhesion 26 extendinglongitudinally of the panel. The assembled adjustment panel is thenvulcanized in the same manner as the body-portion, the stays and fabricoverlying them being embedded in the rubber to form a smooth, allrubbersurfaced under-flap, and the fastening strip 24 being firmly andintegrally coalesced thereto by the vulcanization process. Aftervulcanization, the non-adhesive paper is removed and eyelets 29 and eyes30 are secured to the respective free edges of the fastening strip.

A reducing garment made as above described has many distinctiveadvantages which, so far as I am aware, are possessed by none of thegarments of this character heretofore proposed. It is a superior garmentboth in appearance and in wearing qualities because all surfaces aresmooth. There are no projections to wear or to cause wear. The garmentis of substantially uniform thickness, eliminating lines of weakness dueto abrupt changes in cross-section. There is in this garment no exposedfabric or fibrous material to absorb moisture, the surfaces beingentirely of rubber, except for the metal eyelets, hook, and eyes, andthe garment can consequently be Washed with soap and water, dried with acloth and be ready immediately for wear. Stitching through the rubberfor the attachment of stays and fastening devices, commonly employed inthe manufacture of rubber reducing garments, is entirely eliminated.This avoids a source of weakness, since the sheet rubber of stitchedgarments frequently tears along the lines of stitching. The stays are,furthermore, firmly and completely encased in the rubber and hence arerustproof, where steel stays are employed, and do not have the tendencyto work through the garment as do the stays loosely secured to a rubbergarment by enclosing in a fabric sheath which is sewed to the rubber.Particularly do the smooth, all-rubber surfaces, the substantiallyuniform thickness of the body embracing portion and the completeprotection of the wearer from the fastening and adjusting devices, giveto the garment herein described distinctive advantages of unusual merit.

It is obvious that various modifications may be resorted to within thescope of this invention, and I therefore do not wholly limit the claimsin this application to the specific construction or to the exactprocedure herein described.

I claim:

1. In the art of reinforcing elastic reducing garments, the method whichcomprises superimposing upon a curable rubber sheet of requisite sizeand shape reinforcin structures includin strips of rubbe fabric andstiff, flexi le stays, the staysbeing covered by fabric strips, andpress-curing the 5 construction thus assembled to give thereto asubstantially uniform thickness throughout. 2. In the art of reenforcingelastic reducing garments, the method which comprises superimposing upona curable rubber sheet of 10 requisite size and shape stifi, flexiblestays encased between rubberized fabric, and presscuring theconstruction thus assembled to give thereto substantially smooth,all-rubber interior and exterior surfaces. a 15 In witness whereof Ihave hereunto set my hand this 31st g g of December 1924. OMAS A.BENNETT.

